Loudoun Deputy Shoots Daughter After Mistaking Her for Intruder; Gets in Accident on Way to Hospital

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LANHAM, Md. (WNEW) — A Loudoun County sheriff’s deputy shot his teenage daughter after mistaking her for an intruder in their home, and then got in a car accident as he drove her to the hospital, authorities say.

Sheriff’s Deputy Easton McDonald was getting ready for work around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday when the security alarm at his Winchester home went off, reports The Washington Post. McDonald grabbed his privately-owned handgun and headed to the garage area to investigate, according to Capt. Donnie Lang of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.

McDonald, a 13-year veteran with Loudoun County, heard noises outside the garage and fired his weapon after seeing a dark-shaped figure coming toward him, The Post reports.

“At that particular point, he discharges his firearm and strikes the person in the torso area,” Lang told The Post. “Then he hears her voice and recognizes that it’s his daughter.”

McDonald’s 16-year-old daughter had apparently sneaked out of the house earlier in the night and was returning home when she tripped the security alarm. McDonald told investigators he thought she was asleep upstairs in her bedroom.

After calling 911, McDonald began driving his daughter to the hospital but lost control of his car and hit a barricade. The crash damaged the front of his vehicle but neither McDonald nor his daughter were injured in the crash.

Emergency crews responded to the crash scene and transported McDonald’s daughter to the hospital. She was listed in stable condition Thursday.

The Post says McDonald is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.